For the past year or so, my heart has weighed heavy with the realization that we Christians have terribly conflated so many things - politics with religion, big things with small things, and what is morally permissible with what is edifying to our weaker brothers and sisters. Time and time again I and my fellow Christians are found vying for power and stymieing the very thing which Paul says is the core of what makes any action good - love.

Day after day I hear about the new flashpoint - statues. On its face it sounds like such a petty thing, a point which many exploit so they can demean the opposition and dismiss them with an arrogant and condescending wave of the hand. "The 'snowflakes' are at it again, whining and complaining about another trivial issue, trying to gain social power." Perhaps some are simply trying to gain power. But as Christians, our judgment must go much deeper than being dismissive. Our attitude must be held to a higher standard than demeaning others in our discourse. Our pursuit of provisions and power must be for our daily bread and God's Kingdom come, not for our preferences to be domineered over others while we seek our own kingdom come.

​Tradition has always seemed stale to me. It wreaked of thoughtlessness. Doing something over and over again simply because someone before you did it felt like such a waste of time. But as I mentioned in a previous entry, I have since recognized that tradition is the glue that holds us together. It is a thread that connects the beginning to end. As Chesterton says, tradition is the democracy of the past. Rather than tradition being a gift we give to our ancestors by appeasing them in our actions - an obligatory nod to their archaic practices - tradition is really the recognition and celebration of a gift our ancestors have given to us.